Prized Orange.

Being asked to make a dress for Kathleen Winter was an honour. Kathleen has always been so kind to my family, she has made us feel important and valued and warm. She keeps company with some of the most inspiring women I know. She shares her well earned fortunes with her family and her community and she is a stone cold fox. Excellent legs, gorgeous smile, nice bum.
Making a dress for Kathleen was a joy but also a focused and valued experience, I wanted to make this dress with a spirit that doesn't enter into my general dress construction, I needed it to be special. To capture Kathleen's personalty, but to also express my appreciation for her.
Much of the inspiration came from visions of Kathleen, memories of her spunk and individuality, but also from her lyrical, poetic writing. As I worked on the dress the images of snow covered orange trees would sway in my mind. And I found myself singing, 'No Kathleen" but making up my own words...'oh Kathleen, wearing an orange dress....'.There were trials and errors in the construction. The sleeves made it look dowdy, so I ditched them. I decided on a 'V' back because of the stone cold fox issue, and I ended up adding a ruffly underskirt and a slip.The jacket was constructed on the dress form, I taped out my pattern map and hand stitched it while it was pinned to the form. i went with the fuchsia on the outside because the mix of it with the orange reminded me of Ring Pops. (You would be amazed how often I make design choices based on food.)
This is the last photo I took during construction. At this stage it is all you are going to get. for the finished product with writer inside you will have to wait a few weeks. I'll get one of her posing in it with her prize in hand!Good luck, Kathleen! xoC